'Happy Days' role made her an icon of the 1970s

1of 4FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2008 file photo, Erin Moran arrives at the Fox Reality Channel Really Awards in Los Angeles. Moran, the former child star who played Joanie Cunningham in the sitcoms "Happy Days" and "Joanie Loves Chachi," has died at age 56. Police in Harrison County, Indiana said that she had been found unresponsive Saturday, April 22, 2017, after authorities received a 911 call. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)Photo: Matt Sayles, STF

2of 4FILE - This Feb. 19, 1982 file photo shows actress Erin Moran of the television show, "Happy Days" in Los Angeles. Moran, the former child star who played Joanie Cunningham in the sitcoms "Happy Days" and "Joanie Loves Chachi," has died at age 56. Police in Harrison County, Indiana said that she had been found unresponsive Saturday, April 22, 2017, after authorities received a 911 call. (AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)Photo: Wally Fong, STF

4of 4FILE - In this July 12, 2001 file photo, Garry Marshall, from left, Tom Bosley, Marion Ross, Erin Moran, Henry Winkler, and Anson Williams of the television show "Happy Days," pose after Ross received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Moran, the former child star who played Joanie Cunningham in the sitcoms "Happy Days" and "Joanie Loves Chachi," has died at age 56. Police in Harrison County, Indiana said that she had been found unresponsive Saturday, April 22, 2017, after authorities received a 911 call. (AP Photo/E.J. Flynn, File)Photo: E.J. Flynn, STR

NEW YORK - Erin Moran, the former child star who played Joanie Cunningham in the sitcoms "Happy Days" and "Joanie Loves Chachi," died Saturday at age 56.

A statement from the sheriff's department in Harrison County, Ind., said the dispatcher "received a 911 call about an unresponsive female. Upon arrival of first responders, it was determined that Erin Moran Fleischmann was deceased. An autopsy is pending."

The dispatcher confirmed that the woman was the actress, who had been married to Steven Fleischmann.

A Burbank, Calif., native, Moran began acting in TV and movies before she was 10 years old. She had several years of experience when she was cast in 1974 in "Happy Days" as Joanie Cunningham, the kid sister to high school student Richie Cunningham, played by Howard. Other cast members included Tom Bosley and Marion Ross as Joanie's parents and Henry Winkler as the lovable tough guy Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli.

"What happened with all of us was like we were this family," she told Xfinity in 2009.

Struggle for success

Debuting at a time of nostalgia for the seemingly innocent 1950s, the sitcom was set in Milwaukee and became a long-running hit. Howard and Winkler were the show's biggest stars, but the smiling, freckle-faced Moran also became popular. In 1982, she was paired off with fellow "Happy Days" performer Scott Baio in the short-lived "Joanie Loves Chachi." Moran returned to "Happy Days" in 1984, the show's final season.

Her more recent credits included "The Love Boat" and "Murder, She Wrote," but she never approached the success of "Happy Days" and was more often in the news for her numerous personal and financial struggles and was reportedly homeless at times.

In 2011, she and Ross and former "Happy Days" actors Anson Williams and Donnie Most sued CBS, saying they were owed money for merchandising related to the show. The lawsuit was settled the following year.

Moran told Xfinity that she had been working on a memoir, called "Happy Days, Depressing Nights."

"OH Erin... now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth," Winkler tweeted Saturday. "Rest In It serenely now.. too soon."